After I posted I realized that she was infact talking about all kyus, but it really seemed from they way anon's original post went that it was more intense than what occurred from her first four classes.

In our dojo we don't really set aside a specific time for testing techniques rather they are just woven in with the rest of the lesson. If someone is alert they will be able to learn all their techniques without a special class. That's at least for our kyu ranks. For our higher ranks my sensei, Peter Bernath, will have a once a week advanced class starting two months before dan testing. He does this because so that the dans and high kyus, we have a lot of them, can train at a high intensity level without worrying about a partners ukemi level. This is especially important for our preparation for the randori and jiyuwaza. It's truly intense and demanding with no one going easy on each other.

I only used this as an example, that when it comes to safety that some people are and should be excluded. We have other jiyuwaza training, by the way, that is more appropriate for lower ranks, and if a newbie is intimidated we don't tell them they'll be okay and expect them to continue training. If they look uncomfortable enough, someone suggests just to stick to tenkan exercise and work on their flow and movement or they are allowed to sit and watch.

Josh,

My last name really is "Giri", and it's Italian. A very uncommon Italian name, and it's not an abbreviation of a longer name like Giribaldi. It is also a popular last name in India and Japan I believe.